Charles f



C. F. THOMPSON. RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. 1911.

"1,312,008. Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

A TTORNEYI UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. THOMPSON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFGOLUMBIA.

RESE'I'TING MECHANISM FOR COUNTING-MACHINES.

Application filed April 23, 19 17.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. THOMP- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Resetting Mechanism for Counting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to counting machines and more particularly to the resetting mechanism thereof. In such machines as ordinarily constructed it is necessary to give the resetting shaft a complete revolution in order to bring the number wheels to the zero position, the wheels at zero position being rotated as well as the wheels which have been advanced in the operation of the machine.

WVhere such a machine is employed in conjunction with a typewriter it is desirable that the resetting mechanism be operable through the exertion of a minimum degree of pressure on the actuating lever of said mechanism. It is, therefore, one aim of the present invention to so construct the resetting mechanism of a counting machine that in the operation of the said mechanism only such number wheels that have been rotated beyond zero position will be required to be rotated and therefore no energy is wasted in rotating also the number wheels then occupying zero position.

It not infrequently happens that when a machine of this class is quickly reset, one or more of the number wheels will overthrow, or, in other words, will be rotated beyond zero position and if this is overlooked a count made by themachine subsequently will, of course, be erroneous. The present invention, therefore, aims to so construct the resetting mechanism as to avoid all possibility of any of the number wheels being thrown beyond zero position when the said mechanism is actuated. The present invention contemplates that the desired result shall be obtained by the provision of means for arresting the rotative movement of the number wheels as they reach zero position so that even though the resetting lever be quickly and forcibly depressed and the number wheels are given a quick rotative movement, such movement will be positively arrested when the wheels reach zero position.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine applied to a typewriter;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 163,996.

Fig. 2 is a vertical front to rear sectional view through the machine;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the resetting mechanism separated from the remainder of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a similar view but illustrating the positions of the parts when the actuating Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

lever of the resetting mechanism is fully depressed;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a modified form of the invention.

The counting machine in itself is of a well known type and the mechanism comprising the same is mounted within a suitable casing indicated in general by the numeral l. The numeral 2 indicates the number wheels which are mounted upon the resetting shaft which is indicated by the numeral 3. The wheels are held against backward rotation by means of pawls 4: which coact with the ratchets of the number wheels, indicated by the numeral 5. The numeral 6 indicates the usual rocker which carries a series of pawls 7 designed to coact with the ratchets 5 in a manner to rotate the number wheels in the operation of the machine, this rocker being actuated through the medium of an arm or other suitable element indicated by the numeral 8 which is connected to a moving part, such, for example, as the space bar of a typewriting machine. In the present instance the resetting shaft 3 is rotated through the medium of a rack and pinion, the pinion indicated by the numeral 9 being secured upon the outer end of the said shaft. The rack is in the form of a segment 10, pivotally mounted for rocking movement, as at 11, upon one end of the casing 1 and having an internal series of rack teeth 12 which mesh with the said pinion, the rack being provided at its forward side with a finger lever 13 which may be depressed for the purpose of swinging the rack upon its pivot to cause rotation of the said resetting shaft. A spring 13 c0- aots with the rack 10 and serves to return the rack to its normal position after the rack has been swung forwardly through depression of the finger piece 13 and the finger piece is relieved of pressure. In order that the movement of the rack maybe limited a stop pinion or stud 14 is carried by the said end of the casing and is engageableby spaced abutments 15 upon the outer periphery of the rack. These abutments are so spaced that in a complete movement of the rack the resetting shaft will be rotated less than a complete revolution. In fact, the shaft is rotated through substantially three hundred and twenty-four degrees so that in its rotation it will not, pick up any of the number wheels standing at zero position and will cease to rotate when such wheels as are picked up have been brought to zero position. In my co-pending application filed July 13, 1915, Serial No.396,409 and renewed April 13, 1917, Serial No. 161,900, the abutments corresponding to the abutments 15 were so spaced as to permit of complete rotation of the shaft 3 upon actuation by the rocker 10 and thereforewhen the rocker was initially actuated all of the wheels would be picked up including those at that time standing at zero. In the present instance, however, by so spacing the abutments as to permit rotation of the shaft through only three hundred and twenty-four degrees,only those wheels which have been rotated beyond zero position are picked up by the shaft and thus less energy is required to actuate the present resetting device than required in the instance of the structure shown in the co-pending application.

Fixed upon the resetting shaft 3 within the casing is a cam 16 formed in its periphery with a notch 17, the walls of which are eccentric to the disk comprising the said cam and the formation of this notch results in a cam surface 18 which merges with the periphery of the cam and one wall of the notch, and a finger 19, the inner side of which constitutes the other wall of the notch. A head 20 is provided at its opposite ends with ears 21 which are pivoted within the casing and the said head is provided at one end with a finger 22 designed to enter the notch 17 the end of the finger 22 being yieldably held in engagement wlth the periphery of the cam bymeans of one or more leaf s rings 23 secured to the head 20 and at thelr free ends bearing against a suitably located fixed element indicated by the numeral 24. The finger 22 is curved and it Will be understood that as the cam rotates, to the right in Fi .2 and 4 of the drawings, the end of the nger 22 will ride along the cam surface 18 and will be guided thereby into the notch 17 and will be so engaged by the finger 19 as to be moved in such manner as to rock the head 20 upon 1ts pivots. The head 20 carries a number of pawls 25 which are so positioned as to be brought into engagement with the ratchets of the number wheels when the head 20 is swung as above stated. It will now be understood that normally the pawls 25 are out of engagement with their respective ratchets but that when the resetting shaft is rotated, the cam 16 will coact with the finger 22 to swing the head 20 and bring the pawls 25 into engagement with the ratchets of the number wheels, thereby preventing forward rotation of the said number wheels so long as the finger 22 is in engagement in the notch 17. The said notch is so located that the finger 22 will enter the notch as the number wheels are brought substantially to zero position so that when the finger lever 13 has been fully depressed the finger 22 will be in engagement in the notch 17 and the pawls 25 will engage the ratchets of the number Wheels, thereby holding the said wheels in zero position and against forward rotation beyond said position. From the foregoing it will be seen that there is no possibility of the wheels being thrown beyond the zero position even though the finger lever 13 be quickly and forcibly depressed. In fact, so long as pressure is maintained on said lever the finger 22 will be held in engagement in the notch 17 and the pawls 25 will be firmly held against the ratchets of the munber wheels.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, a head 26 corresponding to the head 20 is. supported between rockers 27 and one of these rockers is provided with a finger 28 which projectsin the path of movement of a lug 29 upon the periphery of a wheel 30 which takes the place of the cam 16 heretofore described. Normally the parts occupy the position shown in the said figure but it will be understood that when the wheel'30 is rotated and the lug 29 engages beneath the finger 28, the rockers 27 w1ll be swung so as to cause the pawls carried by the head 26 to coact with the ratchets of the number wheels, thereby to prevent rotation of said wheels beyond their zero position. Normally, of course, the lug 29 engages the finger 28 in about the position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings so as to hold the pawls out of engagement with the ratchets of the number wheels.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In mechanism of the class described, a shaft, number wheels upon the shaft, means for rotating the said wheels, means for rotating the shaft to resetthe number wheels to zero position, a member movable into and out of coiiperative relation to said wheels, coactive means upon the wheels and the said member for preventing rotation of the wheels beyond zero position, a finger carried by the said member, a cam upon the" shaft having a peripheral notch into which the said finger is designed to seat when the shaft has been rotated to bring the number wheels substantially to zero position, the formation of the notch resulting in a finger for coaction with the first-mentioned finger whereby to move the said member into ooiiperative relation to the number wheels.

2. In mechanism of the class described, a shaft, number wheels upon the shaft, means said member adapted for coaction to preventrotation of the Wheels beyond zero position, rotation of the said shaftrin One direction serving to reset the wheels to zero position,

means for rotating the said shaft in said' direction and then in the opposite direction, a cam carried by said shaft adapted to actuate the member into coactive relation to the number wheels at a predetermined point in the rotation of the shaft in the firstmentioned direction, the said member being adapted to be actuated by said cam during the return movement of the shaft to be forced out of said coactive relation.

3. In mechanism of the class described, a resetting shaft, number Wheels upon the shaft, means for rotating said wheels, a stop member movable into and out of coactive relation with said Wheels, said shaft provided with a cam surface adapted during the rotation of the shaft in one direction to actuate the stop member into coactive relation to the number wheels and during its rotation in the opposite direction to actuate said stop member out of said coactive relation.

. 4. In mechanism of the class described, a resetting shaft, number wheels upon the shaft, means for rotating the said wheels, means for rotating the shaft to reset the number wheels to zero position, a member movable into and out of cooperative relation to said wheels, coactive means upon the wheels and the said member for preventing rotation of the wheels beyond zero position, a finger carried by the said member, a member fixed upon the shaft and rotatable therewith, means upon the last-mentioned member designed to engage with the said finger when the shaft is rotated in one direction whereby to move the first-mentioned member into cooperative relation to the number wheels and to disengage from the finger when the shaft is rotated in the reverse direction, means operable to rotate the shaft in the first-mentioned direction, and means for automatically rotating the shaft in the second-mentioned direction when released.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES F. THOMPSON. [11.8.] 

